"Zika, Miami And Innovative Alternatives To Pesticides"

"As locally acquired cases of Zika continue to gradually grow in Miami, officials are still hamstrung in deploying a promising technology to fight the mosquitoes that transmit the virus, Aedes aegypti. There are 22 locally acquired cases in Florida, 19 primarily in the Wynwood area of Miami, two in Broward County, and a new case in Palm Beach County.

Disconcertingly, the first Zika case in Miami was found in a young, 23-weeks-pregnant woman who became ill, prompting her to seek medical care. Per the Wall Street Journal, she lived in a “rooming house with no air conditioning or window screens”–typical of the poor people who will likely be the most severely affected by Zika.

She, and two of the other cases of locally acquired Zika, had no connection to the Wynwood area. The CDC and Health Department’s insistence that only the Wynwood area of Miami is at risk for Zika makes little sense to me, as mosquitoes don’t recognize boundaries. The only plausible explanation appears to be concerns about the devastating financial blow to Miami should they broaden the warning area."

Judy Stone reports for Forbes August 11, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"Is Insecticide Sprayed To Fight Zika A Risk for People And Wildlife?" (Miami Herald)

"Is The US Doing Enough To Fight Zika?" (BBC News)